Customer Reviews

Follow Your Heart

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Recorded in Bruce Walford's studio in San Anselmo, this album sees the Sons in transition. Tim Cain, the sax player who co-founded the band with Bill Champlin back in 1965, had left, as had trumpet player Jim Beem. The stripped down band has an opportunity to stretch out on a number of fine Bill Champlin compositions, and the album also features the recorded debut of Terry Haggerty's "Follow Your Heart", a tune that would stay in the band's set list until Haggerty's departure in 2001 (a more polished version of the tune appeared on the out of print Circle of Love album, and there is a great performance on The Sons Live CD released in 1997). Soon after the release of this album Bill Champlin took the first of his sabaticals from the group, returning to a new rhythm section and a revised name (Yogi Phlegm) several months later. Not quite as good as Welcome to the Dance, this album still cooks pretty hard and is definitely worth a listen.

The Sons of Champlin were the SF bay area's great unsung band, and were miles ahead of most, in musicianship and songwriting. This is my favorite album of theirs. I didn't give it five stars because, even though the quality is good, it is from a vinyl source. Why did it take an English record company to put this out, when we have every out-of-tune Grateful Dead utterance in pristine digital? Oh well. Get this.

I just don't understand why this 1971 recording is often maligned by the band's fans. The Sons are stripped down and without horns, which is just fine. The band plays with such rollicking conviction and Bill Champlin sings with such clarity, that even the dippy hippie-message lyrics become indispensible to the whole personality. Like one of your weird, eccentric friends who inspire you with their sheer belief.
With FOLLOW YOUR HEART there's emphasis on the tones of the instruments; the drum tones sweetly solid and the guitars burn white hot.
A must-hear is Terry Haggerty's intense guitar bursts. As someone who's bored by the noodling of Jerry G and annoyed by Carlos S's neck-throttling gimmickry, the guitar solos are concise masterpieces never exceeding 8 or 16 bars and for me, what put this record in the Pantheon of my record collection. With each phrase you get the feeling that Haggerty is discovering his own star, like a prodigy kid who just let loose his first-ever genius wild jazz lick.
You should buy this record. I did, twice.

My husband is very happy with one of his old favorites now being available on CD. I just wish they had kept the original album art the same. The alteration they did looks goofy to me. But that's immaterial to listeners.

Bill Champlin can sing like crazy, and play any instrument in the band. I think Terry Haggerty probably took too much acid at some point in time, but still plays some nice spacey licks.

The high points of this CD for me is "Hey Children" a nice shuffel blues track, and "Beside You" a nice ballad featuring Bills excellent falsetto.

This is a great CD--don't be scared off by the 3 stars--I'm a tough grader.

Absolutely a superb album from one of the best under-the-radar San Francisco bands of the 60's-70's! Intricate, yet accessible, these boys can weave soft thread or lay down the hammer depending on the feel of the song. As you listen to these guys playing so masterfully, think about the Dead still trying to tune their instruments!

i really don't understand who makes the decisions to put which albums on cd. i really like bits and pieces of the sons material. lossen up naturally has a few great songs, most of welcome to the dance is awesome and a circle filled with love (only available on vinyl to my knowledge) is super, but i didn't find a single keeper on this cd.